Visitability Advocates Score Two Victories In One
DayFebruary 13, 2002

NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS & PIMA COUNTY,
ARIZONA--Last Tuesday, two communities in different parts of the United States
became the first to require all new homes be built to specific accessibility
standards.

The new laws, in Naperville, Illinois and Pima County, Arizona, are
victories for disability rights advocates who have been pushing for
"visibility" standards for at least the past 15 years. The goal of this
movement is to make sure people with disabilities can freely visit their
neighbors, or move into a home without having to make significant changes.

The new standards require an entrance with no steps, ground-floor
hallways and doorways wide enough for wheelchairs, and a ground-floor bathroom
large enough for a wheelchair to enter and turn around.

Several cities, including Chicago, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas, already
had similar laws, but those only applied to housing built with public money.
The new ordinances in Naperville and Pima County are the first to apply all new
housing, including privately built homes.